Zimmerman jury did its job

Monday

Aug 5, 2013 at 10:45 PM

A salute to the Zimmerman jurors for a job well done.

James GeorgeBaton Rouge

A salute to the Zimmerman jurors for a job well done.Over two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson said “I consider Trial by Jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution” (Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Paine, 1789), and I think Mr. Jefferson would beam with pride at the exemplary manner in which the six jurors courageously discharged their sworn duty recently in the Zimmerman trial.These six women were summoned into Court in Sanford, Fla., with other prospective jurors, many of whom had probably never been in a courthouse, much less a courtroom.After they, and four alternates, were empaneled to decide the fate of Mr. Zimmerman, they were confined to a hotel for almost a full month, deprived of home and family life.They were required to listen carefully and attentively to the testimony of 56 witnesses and to study 84 photographs and reams of documentary evidence.These six women became, quite literally, the bulwark of reason standing between the passions of over a year of fiery rhetoric which demanded the head of Mr. Zimmerman — a head which was cut and bloodied from the beating he received — and the system of justice they swore to uphold.They became the conscience of their community and performed their duties with quiet dignity and immeasurable courage.As stated in a recent article titled, “In praise of the Zimmerman jurors,” “Our system of justice asks a lot of jurors. Jury duty is a solemn civic obligation similar to voting that is played out in thousands of federal and state courts around the country every day.”However one may feel about their verdict — it is my belief there was no other verdict which could have been rendered given the collapse of the case for the prosecution — we should all thank this very brave group of women.We should all be as proud of them as I know Mr. Jefferson would be were we fortunate enough to have his boundless intellect and wisdom with us today.